The First Rule of Punk

The First Rule of Punk

• Genre: Fiction; realistic middle grade
• Originally Published: 2017
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 670L; grades 4-7
• Structure/Length: 39 chapters; approx. 336 pages; approx. 5 hours, 20 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: Malú, a 12-year-old girl whose mom is Mexican-American and dad is white, moves from Florida to Chicago with her mom. She misses her dad and old home, rebels against expectations at the school and from her mom, and joins a band. As she settles into her new neighborhood and school, she embraces different aspects of her identity.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Racial epithets

Celia C. Pérez, Author

• Bio: Born in New Jersey; grew up in Miami with her Mexican mother, Cuban father, and sister; in middle school, wrote about wrestling matches she saw; lives in Chicago; writes books and articles; works as community college librarian; Pura Belpré Honor Award (2023) and Tomás Rivera Mexican-American Children’s Book Award (2023) for Tumble 
• Other Works: Strange Birds (2019); Tumble (2022)
• Awards: Pura Belpré Author Honor Book (2018); Tomás Rivera Mexican-American Children’s Book Award (2018); Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Fiction & Poetry Honor Book (2018); Sunshine State Young Readers Award Books Grades 6-8 (2018-2019); Bank Street College of Education’s Best Children’s Books of the Year (2018), a winner of the Middle Grade Fiction Nerdies (2017)